Iva Toguri Biography

She was the most listened to DJ during World War II, yet the legend of the Tokyo Rose is hardly remembered today. Ikuko “Iva” Toguri, later known as Iva Toguri d’Aquino was an American- Japanese propagandist during World War II. Throughout the war, Toguri broadcasted for Zero Hour under the name of “Orphan Ann”, however she was commonly referred to as “Tokyo Rose” by the American and Australia soldiers. This radio propaganda aimed to demoralize the troops serving in the Pacific, however it was also intentionally used to comfort them. After the war, Iva Toguri was returned to her homeland and convicted for treason, however she was later granted a president’s pardon and died in 2006 as an undisputed American citizen.
Iva Toguri was born in Los Angeles, California on July 4th 1916 to Japanese immigrants. Iva and her siblings were raised as Methodists in an Americanised environment. Despite being a Nisei, which is a children born to Japanese parents in a new country, her father strongly discouraged his children from learning to speak or write Japanese and even banned them to use chopsticks and eat their cultural food. In 1941, Toguri graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) with a bachelor's degree in zoology and the intention of practicing medicine

When I was first given this biography task all I knew was that I wanted to write about an influential women of World War II. As I began to research, I stumbled across a woman called Iva Toguri. I believe she is an inspirational and fascinating historical figure which is why I chose to write my biography task about her. During the war she displayed bravery and loyalty for her country and never gave up on what she believed in, at times her own life was put at risk. Today it is still being debated whether Iva Toguri is a traitor, regardless, she is still considered a role model for many young, independent